Blog: Letters to Santa

Time to post off the letters to Santa

28-11-2012

Every year on December 1st we post our letters to Father Christmas and then spend the next 24 days waiting to see what he brings with our fingers crossed he doesn't forget anything.

It seems that this may also be a tradition for some celebrity families, as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's brood were recently seen sending off their hand-written wish lists in a small village post office in Kent.

During a visit to Littlebourne, Maddox, 11, Pax, eight, Zahara, seven, Shiloh, six and four-year-old twins Knox and Vivienne also popped into the post office to make sure Santa was aware of what they wanted to be sitting under the Christmas tree this year.

Apparently the Hollywood family were staying in a nearby converted barn while Brad was filming scenes for his forthcoming zombie movie World War Z.

"It was so cute. All the children sent messages to Father Christmas and were absolutely beautifully behaved," explained Post Office assistant Fiona Lindsay to People magazine.

"Just like any other kids in a sweet shop they were excited, but Angelina controlled them perfectly.

"It was lovely - they were all very polite. They were just a bunch of gorgeous, happy kids."

The children also purchased some sweets and a few toys before possibly heading off to enjoy the traditional meal of fish and chips.

I'm not so sure my brood will be quite so well-behaved and I was most disappointed when my biggest son suggested emailing Father Christmas would be a better option. He has recently started going to the after-school computer club and the internet seems to be his current answer to everything.

However, it would seem my child isn't the only one who isn't so keen to send a written letter to Santa this year. Recent research by the Disney Store found that around a third of parents do not have any plans to write a letter with their child and a further 15 per cent admitted they have yet to make their mind up  even though they have fond memories of the tradition.

Psychologist Honey Lancaster-James, said: "Christmas is a magical time of year for children and a time when families can come together and share in their excitement. For many of us, our earliest memories of letter writing are associated with writing a letter to Santa, usually with the help of our parents, so it's a shame that this tradition seems to be dying out.

"It's important that today's families continue to make memories together and at Christmas they can use their imagination and create a little magic of their own!"

The Royal Mail is reminding parents and children that they have until December 14th to send off their letters to Father Christmas in Reindeerland if they want to receive a reply from him before Christmas Eve.

As well as writing with children, reading together can also be a great activity for creating joint memories. Nothing beats a selection of personalised story books, a cup of hot chocolate and a blanket  especially if this awful weather continues until Christmas.